Connecting the Stem to the Rose
by Amethyst Blackquill
Summary: With everything resolved at last, most problems seem to be petty nowadays. However, no problem is as serious as matters of the heart. Everyone's pushing for Ragna to say IT to Rachel. A tale from an old man helps resolve that issue once and for all. Original Idea by: DarkOneBloodedge Written by: Kimmo Kimono Apple Pronger
1. Stubborness, Giving In

Peace. Ragna never thought that after working so hard to achieve it, it would be so boring. With Terumi exterminated from existence long ago, it almost made him crave for those old days when he would be constantly travelling and fighting. Fighting for his life made him who he is today. He egotistically thought that a badass like him wasn't cut out for the quiet life. Nowadays, he's just taking up contracts from his good friend Bullet, and doing that odd job to the side every now and then.

However, there was one thing lingering in his mind as of late. People were egging him on for something.

Everyone, even former enemies, knew about his relationship with Rachel Alucard. They knew he and her were very close despite what it may look like on the surface. They all thought the two would make a great pair to be husband and wife. Ragna, however, was never good at these kinds of things. His "critics" would not have any of that as an excuse for that, though. The more he heard about it, the more he wanted to strangle them and leave them for dead in a ditch.

You'd have to take that into account, considering that he was very much fighting for his entire life starting from when he was in his early teenager years.

"Hey!"

That voice. That old, cranky-sounding voice; his old master, Jubei. "Hey, Master," Ragna greeted after being startled out of his thoughts.

He had been sitting alone on the ground, in an alleyway in the streets of Kagutsuchi. He liked dirty places like this.

Jubei stood a small distance from where Ragna was sitting on. He gave a sincere smile to him, "I noticed ya look like crap there, my boy. Been thinking about that girl again?"

Ragna glared at his Master. He always knew what he was thinking when he was thinking it. No point in lying about it, so might as well come clean, Ragna thought, "...Kinda. I was just...thinking about how everyone wants us to...you know..."

"Get married?"

"Y-Yeah..."

After that, there was an awkward pause between the two.

Jubei broke the silence by asking him softly, "Why do you not want to marry her? Do you not love her?"

Ragna softly groaned as he lowered his head, "Why does it even matter or not why I even want to marry the rabbit? Isn't it that the only matters are that we...love each other, and that's that? Plus, someone like me isn't cut out to have someone who he can call his...what do you call...? A wife?"

Jubei smacked Ragna atop the head with his walking stick.

"OW!"

Jubei groaned at Ragna impatiently, "You seriously do not even know the basic marriage jargon? Years of fighting really did take its toll on you, didn't it? That seems to be all that you know about that you don't even know your ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to even the most basics of social etiquette!"

Ragna rubbed the spot on his head Jubei whacked as he frowned at his Master, "Bah, you didn't have to say that, Master. What am I? The Black Beast?"

Jubei shot Ragna a look, and in an instant, Ragna got the message.

Ragna sighed, giving in, "Fine... I get it. Just tell me why it's important for me to...marry her. Can you at least do that, Master?"

Jubei paused for a moment, turned away from Ragna, then started, "Marriage is supposed to be a ceremonial ritual of love."

That made Ragna want to gag immediately.

The feline continued, "It's a celebration of a couple's bond that evolves into something more. Those vows that the bride and the groom make; they are vows to each other. They promise to love each other, in sickness and in health, till death does them apart. That's at least part of it, but my own wedding happened a LONG, LONG time ago, so I don't exactly remember the vows I made, and I'm sure that the overall vows changed along the road. In short, it's essential a celebration in which two people who love each other promise to be, at all times, next to each other and there for each other."

Ragna looked at the ground for a moment, then looked over at Jubei's back that's turned to him, "...Okay. I think I understand, but..."

"But?"

Ragna blinked a few times as he asked sheepishly, "Didn't Rachel and I basically agree to that on our own terms? Like, we don't even need to actually say we trust each other. We have all that jazz you just said down just fine. And for that matter, Rachel never brought it up either. So, I'd assume she's fine with it-"

That landed him another smack on the head by Jubei's walking stick. The feline only had to reach backwards to do it. What flexibility and precision.

"You got a lot to learn about communication, buddy boy," Jubei said sternly at Ragna as he slowly turned around to him again. "Do you know what they say about 'assuming'?"

Ragna slowly shook his head. SMACK! "Okay! Okay! I'm an idiot! Just stop hitting me with that damn stick!" He begged Jubei.

Jubei's patience with him was growing thin with him, "It makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'. How do you know she's REALLY fine with not getting married?"

Ragna didn't dare to answer his question. He feared another whack on the head by that dreaded walking stick.

Jubei sighed at him when all he got was silence from Ragna, "You remember what Noel and Makoto said to you, my boy?"

Ragna rolled his eyes at the mentioning of their names, "What? How it isn't 'fair' to Rachel and all that shit?"

"Yep." Jubei said as he nodded, "Even though you and Rachel know each other well, there are even things about Rachel you still don't know yet. If there's one thing I learned about women, it's that they're truly mysterious beings, but that's what makes them beautiful. Try talking with her more, Ragna. Ya should definitely think about what makes Rachel happy a bit more."

Ragna slowly stood up from the ground he was sitting on, then faced his Master, "I guess I'll talk to Rachel about what I can do for her, but I'm not going to let anybody tell me how to run my relationship with the rabbit. It's our relationship, and not any of theirs, you hear me? I'm still not going to get married to her. It's expensive, a waste of time, and my thought hasn't changed that it's essentially a repeat of words from when you first get together as a couple."

To Ragna's surprise, however, Jubei smirked at him this time, "Have it your way, Ragna. I'll be on my way, now. I feel like I'm getting older here just sitting around talking to you like a grandfather to a baby who can't comprehend intelligent words," He chuckled.

With that, Jubei was on his way.

Ragna groaned at the passive-aggressive joke he pulled on him, _"He didn't have to go and say it like that. I may be a blockhead, but I at least try to understand."_

"You."

"BWAH!" Ragna jumped and spun around to see the old butler standing in front of him, gut sucked and standing perfectly straight. "G-Geez, old man! You almost made me wish I had my old sword with me for protection!"

The butler couldn't help but chuckle at his dismay, "That gave me a few laughs. Congratulations are in order," Uncharacteristically of him, for whenever he was with Ragna, he was actually smiling, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Master Jubei, Ragna."

Ragna groaned as he flailed his arms around one time, "I KNOW what you're going to say, and I'm going to have the answer the same as always! It's not happening-OWW!" His yelling earned him a graceful chop on the head by the butler. "What is it with people hitting me with every sentence I make?!"

The butler ignored his question and continued, "Ragna, I would like to trouble you for a moment of your time, for I have a tale to tell you that will make you change your mind for sure,"

"...About marrying Rachel?" Ragna asked, although he knew what the answer was.

"I'm sure you know what the answer was, Ragna," Valkenhayn softly said as he gave a light bow, "Of course. This is for your sake, as well as the Madam's."

"My sake?!" Ragna exclaimed, utterly confused, "Look, I-"

A brief pause...

"Yes...?" Valkenhayn raised an eyebrow at the retired criminal.

"...I'm not going to be smacked if I say it, am I?" Ragna asked nervously.

"I can't promise that, but please speak freely," Valkenhayn encouraged Ragna.

Ragna took a deep breath, "I'm sure it won't change my mi-" SMACK! "OWW! Now I know you just wanna make fun of me at this point!"

Valkenhayn put a single hand on his forehead as he shook it for a moment, "Still such a hardheaded tyke. Very well, Ragna. Why don't we compromise?"

"You mean make a deal?" Ragna put it colloquially.

"Yes. Quite," Valkenhayn chuckled, making Ragna roll his eyes, "If this really doesn't make you change your mind, I'll make you a bevy of meat dishes tonight. Your favourite, even."

The thought of treating his taste buds to a bevy of delicious meat was too good for Ragna to pass up. If he wasn't convinced by anyone else, why would HE suddenly get him to change his mind? "Yeah. I want in. You're on, old man."

"However," Valkenhayn interrupted, "However, if you change your mind, all I ask is that you immediately prepare yourself to propose to her."

Ragna looked to the side and scoffed, "Whatever. Doesn't sound that bad. You're on, old man."

"Very well," Valkenhayn bowed once more to Ragna.

"Just...one request," Ragna said to the butler.

"Yes, Ragna?"

"...Get me out of this alley before anybody else shows up," Ragna said as he looked back and forth at both ends of the alleyway.

"Very well," Valkenhayn opened up a portal that took them both to Rachel's living quarters.

After the portal disappeared, Makoto and Noel arrived in the alleyway themselves.

"I'm telling you, I heard him here! My squirrel sense doesn't lie to me, ever! We'll make that guy crack under pressure once we find him!" Makoto said to Noel as she lagged behind, tired.

The blonde groaned at the beastkin, "I'm so hungry, Makoto... Can we please...take a break...?"

* * *

Valkenhayn's portal led Ragna into a small, enclosed room. Once the portal closed, Ragna took a good look around. Needless to say, he was astonished by what he saw. Around the room, nearly everything was sparkling. There were several shelves full of many kinds of jewelry as far as the eye can see, all of which he'd never seen before. Eye-candy, it was.

"Whoa..." Ragna couldn't help but say in awe about the aesthetics in the room, "So why is it here that we have to talk?"

Valkenhayn nodded at Ragna's question, and started, "You see... When Rachel was so young, far before you knew her, she once had a dream, an ambition."

Sounds normal for Ragna; he just shrugged his shoulders.

He continued once he saw Ragna's signal, "The ambition was...marriage."

 _"_ _Oh shit..."_ Ragna was starting to develop a pit inside his stomach, already.

Valkenhayn could sense Ragna's frantic mind as he continued to say his story, "As a child, she'd constantly imagined what it would be like to marry someone who loved her and who she loved with all her heart. She'd imagine being surrounded by friends and family alike as she and her would-be groom would give their hearts to each other."

 _"_ _Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT! This is not happening!"_

"However, as you may guess, Rachel's long abandoned that dream. The older she got, the more she viewed it as a child's fantasy, and nothing else. Falling in love, she thought was impossible for her...until she met you."

Ragna's forehead was sweating bullets. He had to wonder if Valkenhayn was enjoying tormenting him so sweetly.

The butler continued while laughing in his mind, "Her heart wanted you. The way you never gave up constantly inspired her to do the same. She'd never outright tell you, but it's the truth about her. She loves you with all her heart that she didn't even bother to bring up her childhood dream to you, so as to not make you uncomfortable and unhappy..."

 _"_ _Screw you, old man... Now I feel like shit!"_

He shook his head a little bit for a dramatic effect, "...As we speak, she is not aware of our conversation, and I know she would punish me for leaking this to you. However, I did it for both of your sakes so that hopefully you'd recognise the importance of her happiness. Think about it, she watched you die again and again, watched you make a fool of yourself many times over, and constantly tried to steer you in the right direction. Don't you think it's time you should at least do something for her, like make old dreams come true for her? Or is it...you truly do not desire for her, a happy life?"

"DAMN IT!" Ragna boomed, "Old man, fine! You're right! I did say a while ago that I'd make Rachel happy. Screw the meat! What the hell was I even thinking!? I'm going through with this, for her sake, if not for anybody else's! I've seen her smirk, but not give a full-blown smile. She's so cute when she smiles, and I want to see that smile again!" In a second, Ragna just realised the tangent he went off on, and covered his mouth with his face as red as a tomato.

Valkenhayn smirked at the former criminal, "I hate to sound like a schoolchild, but... I told you so."

Ragna growled and was just thankful it wasn't a bet for cash, "Alright, so I guess the first thing I have to do is get a ring. But I'm not rich, and it's already hard to impress Rachel as it is."

Valkenhayn waddled a finger in front of Ragna's face, "Has the Alucard family ever been unprepared to handle any scenario? Master Clavis already had that covered a long time ago, hence why we're in this room. This is also one of the few rooms that not even the Madam is aware of that exists because this room is specifically for surprising Rachel."

Valkenhayn took from one of the shelves, a small case that had been encased in gold. He slowly opened the box to reveal a beautifully shaped ring with a gemstone on top of it. It looked absolutely marvelous. The way it shines, just the way it looks was enough to get Ragna to stare at it.

The butler explained, "This was one of the last things Master Clavis entrusted me with before he passed on. It was this ring. Made from the purest of mineral conundrums, this flawless ruby gemstone is the Alucard heirloom. It would only be unveiled when the time comes for the Madam to be wedded. How odd fate would be that you, of all people, would be the one to present this heirloom to her."

Ragna scratched the back of his head while feeling a chill down his spine just from staring at this ring within the small case, "Geez. You make me feel like the world falls on my hands again, not that I ever want to go back to those days. Alright, so I just give this thing to Rachel?"

"YOU FOOL!" Valkenhayn snarled at Ragna, "You cannot simply 'give' it to Madam Rachel! You must practically beg! Here, let me teach you how you should do it. Pay attention!"

Ragna groaned out loud, "Ugh! Why can't things ever be easy!?"


	2. JUST SAY YES!

All the pieces were in place and all the cards were laid out on the table. Now, the only thing left to do was to put the plan into motion.

He was alone with her, sitting at a table in the middle of the Rose Garden, having dinner with Rachel. Ragna the Bloodedge, with heart in his sleeve and drops of sweat down his face only had himself to rely on for this next task. He has the heirloom that was made of purest mineral conundrums that formed the finest piece of ruby imaginable.

This is something that should be simple to do after many rounds of grueling practice like a challenger training to dethrone the champion.

...So why doesn't he just give the vampire the damn thing, already?

Well, for one thing, it was just mentioned that Ragna was sweating bullets, so it was needless to say he was more nervous than a schoolgirl trying to talk to her crush.

 **SMASH!**

A teacup broke itself upon impact on Ragna's thick head. Ouch, did it sting. His mind just processed that Rachel, on the other side of the circular, clear-glass table had just thrown a teacup at him.

"WHAT?!" Ragna boomed, infuriated at the vampire that she just threw a teacup at his head and broke it.

"I would expect you to know table manners by now, you ape," Rachel spat at Ragna as she took a bite out of one of her scones on a saucer. "I tried having small talk with you to make our time together more stimulating, but you don't seem to be receptive at all. I've called your name at least nine times but it took a teacup to the head to make you acknowledge me."

Oh shit, he thought. He REALLY must have zoned out if he somehow didn't hear Rachel call out to him NINE TIMES. He growled under his breath. This was it. He repeated to himself. Just give her the goddamn ring, and say that you and her are getting hitched.

Alright. This was it, he thought to himself. Gonna go for broke. It was now or never. Ragna reached into the back-pocket of his pants, to grab the case that contained the ring. He felt it in his pocket. Now to take it out and present it.

But what was happening? Why was his body not responding to his commands? What the hell's going on? Argh! Not now! Why couldn't he just give her the ring, already? He feared for a moment that she would deny him. Of course she wouldn't deny him! Even though it looks on the surface that they don't mix and match, they loved each other to pieces! He knows it, so why did he fear her saying "no"?

Besides, it's not like Valkenhayn would lie about something so serious as Rachel once having a childhood dream of wanting to be married to someone she truly loves with every fiber of her being! He was that man! So again, WHY can't he just take out and give her the goddamn ring?!

"Ragna, what is with your erratic behaviour tonight? Is there something you're not telling me?" Rachel asked with coolness as she gently lay her teacup down on the table.

He told himself to just man up. Ah! An idea struck in his head. Ragna has got to rely on the old tricks. HIS old tricks. Don't think, just act on what you think is right. That finally unfroze him.

"YAAAAAHHH!" He gave out his old battle cry, as he summoned the strength to unfreeze himself from his self-imposed prison. He took out the case from his back-pocket, and then removed the cover, revealing the glimmering piece of jewelry to her. "SO, RACHEL," He couldn't stop himself from yelling, "YOU WANNA GET HITCHED, OR WHAT?!"

He was abrupt as what he said was just spoken from his heart.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table...

Rachel's eyes were wide, and it was her turn to be frozen in time. Immediately, her mind went backwards in time and recalled the memory of a childhood fantasy she conjured up when she was young. It was something she thought of from time to time, but it was something she gave up on.

Now, the dream has presented itself in front of her in the very fabric of reality itself. What was she supposed to do? Very few things were able to genuinely catch her off-guard, and this was one of them.

Everything was quiet. This silence was practically deafening.

" _Come on! YOU'RE KILLING ME HERE! JUST SAY YES! COME ON, MAN!"_ Ragna thought as his arm that was presenting the ring to Rachel was stiffening.

" _Gracious... Good gracious... This has to be a dream. I can't fathom what is right in front of me..." The vampire thought._ Mentally, she felt like a little girl again. She felt like she could break character and just yell to the world that she was getting married. Tears were starting to surface, too. Rachel also struggled to keep those down as well.

Steeling herself, and not allowing Ragna a moment of victory just yet, Rachel gently pried the case that contained the ruby ring from Ragna's hands. Upon further inspection, she found that it was indeed such a sight to behold.

" _What's the big deal, rabbit?! JUST FREAKING SAY THAT YOU'LL MARRY ME! It can't be that hard to accept it in the first place, can it?!"_ Said Ragna while still holding his arm out towards Rachel that now has nothing in his hand. This was way too long, even for her.

Rachel took a few more seconds to inspect the ruby ring, and then delicately sat it in the middle of the table between her and Ragna.

" _No way... IS SHE SAYING 'NO' AFTER ALL?!"_ Ragna thought while almost becoming white in the face.

The vampire gave out a sigh of disappointment as she asked, "Is this how you propose to a proper lady of stature? I demand an encore presentation from you."

Another moment of silence.

The white colouration that was on Ragna's face was now turning into a deep red. He gritted his teeth. He was so angry that steam could be coming out of his ears. What the hell, Rachel? What kind of nerves do you have? "You...ARE KIDDING! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"

Rachel on the other side had her stoic expression on, but on the inside, she was majorly struggling not to put up a laughing fit. She was so happy that she just couldn't resist not giving Ragna an easy time. She always has to give him a hard one.

Ragna wasn't going to accept that. He's not going to back down that easily as futile as it usually was to argue with her. Oh no, playtime is OVER! "THIS...IS...WRONG, RABBIT! I AM ONLY DOING THIS FOR YOUR SAKE IN THE FIRST PLACE! Your whole life, you wanted something like this to happen, right?! So why can't you just make things simple, for once?! You could have just said 'yes", let me stick the ring onto your finger, and then live happily ever! BUT NO! You are asking me to do it again!? WHY?!"

Rachel pretended to yawn and stretched out in her seat as she answered, "I couldn't possibly marry a man, nay, a dog with no sense of proper tact or romance, whatsoever. So unless you don't insist on being my husband, I suggest you conjure up a more acceptable proposal to me."

No way. He's not going to let Rachel have her way. He took a deep breath to keep his cool and said in a terrible gentleman's accent, "Alright. Let me propose something else, then. How about we can propose a DIFFERENT place where you can stick the ring on."

The vampire felt a vein pop in her forehead. She knew what Ragna was suggesting, knowing his one-track mind, and foul mouth. "Actually, I'm one step ahead of you on a different idea. You wanted easy? How about we play a game even a simpleton like you can understand," She said as she picked up the case that contained the ruby ring from the table and put it in the palm of her hand.

Ragna became curious. She picked up the ring again. Was she really going to put it on her ring finger herself, he wondered in his mind. "So, what kind of game are talking here?"

"It's called..." Rachel, without changing a single feature on her emotionless expression, threw the ring backwards behind her in a perfect arc into the cluster of roses behind her. "...'Find the ring among the roses'. You can do that, right?"

Ragna couldn't answer because he could have sworn his jaw had detached from him and fell on the ground. In a blink of an eye, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He dashed faster than he ever did before to the spot where Rachel had tossed the ring, and begun frantically searching through the roses to find the ring.

Rachel didn't bother to look behind her to see Ragna's sheer panic, and instead refilled the her teacup with new tea. "Honestly, Ragna. You were the one making things hard for yourself. If only you could comply with my demands, we would be on our way by now to a happy marriage. Oh, and do try to make a better job at conjuring up at least a half-decent proposal. I just might accept."

Not even thinking of how to back-sass her, Ragna just spilled out as he was frantically searching through the flowers, "That's a family heirloom, rabbit! You don't just go tossing shit like that!"

Rachel merely glanced back with her eyes while raising a single eyebrow as she asked, "And how would you possibly know of something like that before I could ever have the chance to?"

Ragna felt time froze again. He just realised what he has stupidly, yet inadvertently done. He spilled the beans. Ragna felt his face going white again. He was screwed.

Rachel continued to pile on pressure on the poor man, "First of all, I would imagine that such jewelry would weigh a hefty, hefty price. Possibly more than what your bounty used to be. Second, how did you know it was my lifelong dream to be married and living happily with a wonderful husband? My memory is superb and I know for a fact that I didn't ever tell you such a thing. Thirdly, you have an accomplice. Your accomplice had to have been someone who knew that the ring I tossed into the roses was the heirloom and therefore had access to a secret room that contained such a fine artifact and was also someone who I told the tale of my old dream of being betrothed."

Oh, what Ragna wouldn't give to have her butler save his ass right about now.

But the vampire wasn't done, "Fourth... I recognise the design. My father wore a necklace that had a small jewel with the same shape in the centre of it. It was small, but still had the same design, nonetheless. A design like that makes it only recognisable to those among the Alucard family or that are very closely associated with the Alucard family. This goes back to your accomplice. HE told you of this, didn't he?"

Ragna knew the jig was up at that point. He played right into Alucard's hands. He got bamboozled, countered, and downed in more ways than one. He sighed. No way he could lie out of this one. He did find the ring while being careful to not prick his hands in the thorns of the roses, but Ragna got found out. He stared at the ring for one moment before standing and turning around to look at Rachel.

However, to his surprise, he found that the vampire was standing up by her chair, facing him with a genuine smile. It was a smile that almost made his heart melt. He loved seeing it, "Well, I guess you got me, rabbit..." He said in a tone of defeat.

"Are you not going to try again?" Rachel asked, still with that smile on her face.

Ragna stared at it for a moment, then averted his gaze to her eyes, "I mean, if it's okay with you. You caught me, after all."

"Did I say I wasn't going to accept it? I just wanted to play a game with you, and I won handily," The vampire proceeded to dust off imaginary dirt from her dress, "Now that I've had my fun, try it again...and make it snappy."

Ragna growled. He remembered from memory that he must practically beg. So he went down on both knees and held it out to Rachel, "Okay, rabbit. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life, and-"

"Who are you proposing that to?" Rachel interrupted.

"What now?!"

She gave a small giggle to him as Rachel said, "You are at least five feet away from me. Don't you think it's better if you were...closer?"

" _Stop nitpicking, goddamn it... Just...say...yes... Why do you always have to make everything simple so complicated?!"_ He scowled and then made his way to point-blank range to Rachel. He knelled down to about her standing height as he was much taller compared to her, and then said, "Rachel... I...uh...hearby declare my...proposal for you to be my husband..."

 **SLAP!**

Rachel sighed, "The husband is the MAN."

"Shit!" Ragna yelled. But he remembered just then what a married woman was supposed to be called. "Oh right. Let me try it again." He cleared his throat loudly that it made Rachel's ears want to vomit, "Rachel! I love you so much that I want to be your wife!"

 **SLAP!**

Rachel sighed, "You just said that you wanted to be MY wife, not my husband. Is this really that difficult for you?"

"Gah! You COULD have just said 'yes' the first time I done it! That's it! We would have been done!"

"You sounded like a lunatic wanting to make me your puppet bride. Nothing like a gentleman," Rachel countered. "Would you even want to be married to a lunatic?"

Ragna shuddered when he heard a certain pale girl's maniacal laughter in his mind. "Okay. Okay. One more time. I promise to get it right."

He took a couple of deep breaths. He would just say, "Rachel, I want to be your husband and I want you to be my wife.". That was decent enough, right? That's all he had to ask. His knees were wearing on him from being knelt on the ground for a long period of time. Hopefully, the words would come out right, this time.

One more deep breath...

"...I suppose that would have to do." He suddenly heard the vampire speak.

"...What?" Ragna said in disbelief.

Rachel put a hand to her chin as she giggled softly a few times, "The comedy has already been sucked dry. I can see all, Ragna. Everything with how you got the ring and the knowledge you have of my lifelong dream. However, the fact that you try so hard to go through with it no matter how many times you falter like a clumsy ox and make yourself look like an ass, as well as search for the ring through the roses, makes my heart flutter."

Ragna felt his anger smoldering once more. Hot and cold, this bitch of a vampire was, wasn't she, he thought in his mind.

"Gah! You know what? Screw all of this! Things are just never easy with you, you know that, rabbit? Why don't you just make things simple once in a while?! Gah! Where's the old man? This is all been a joke!"

He begins to stomp his way out of the Rose Garden with the ring still in his hand, until...

"Ragna."

"What?!" He yelled as he turned around only to see a body of Rachel Alucard flying straight for him, head first. Out of instinct, he threw the case that contained the ring upward into the air, and held Rachel in a style that a newly wedded man does to his spouse.

With Ragna surprised and momentarily stunned, Rachel, while in Ragna's arms, cups Ragna's right cheek with her right hand as she moves her face up to kiss the man's lips passionately. As she parted her lips, her left hand caught the case that contained the ring. "Thank you, for letting me live an old abandoned dream, Ragna. I couldn't have been more happy than I could recall in all the centuries in my life."

All could Ragna do at this point was stay still as he held Rachel while watching her play with the ring in her hands as if it was her new toy. She looked like such a cute little girl watching her fingers dance around the ring like a curious child.

One last thought ran through Ragna's mind as he came to terms that Rachel finally accepted his marriage proposal, or the attempt itself, rather.

" _I guess it was all worth it in the end."_


	3. Breaking the News

"F-FABULOUS! ABSOLUTELY, FANTASTICALLY FABULOUS!" Nago said with a voice as gay as can be.

"Yeah! What he said!" Gii laughed nervously at the recently engaged couple, "Ha, ha... I'm not so good at this kind of thing, but really! The princess is getting married! Whoo-hoo!"

" _Earplugs. Must. Get. Earplugs."_ Ragna groaned in his mind as he covered his ears from all this fabulous talk.

Rachel sighed and shook her head with a smile at her two loyal guards, "Honestly, you two. That was a bit over the top, but I thank thee nonetheless." She turned her head to her butler. "Valkenhayn, you really pulled the strings on Ragna like a puppeteer, haven't you?"

Valkenhayn bowed to his longtime master, "My apologies, madam. I couldn't sit idly bye and watch a long-held dream go to waste. I also knew that it would do both of you good if Ragna proposed to you. You would have your dream, and Ragna would step up to be a proper man worthy of being your husband."

The blonde vampire sighed again, "Honestly, what am I to do with you, Valkenhayn. Regardless, you have our thanks, right Ragna?"

Ragna felt a sinking feeling in his stomach from suddenly being dragged into the conversation. "Y-Yeah! Sure, what she said. Yeah... Thanks." He said half-interested. He just wanted to get this out of the way as quickly as possible.

Valkenhayn could not wipe off the smile he had on his face since he heard Ragna and Rachel making it official to them, "This calls for a celebratory dinner for one such occasion. I shall prepare it, posthaste!"

"If you please," Rachel obliged as she gave a light bow to her butler.

Ragna rolled his eyes at the two of them, _"_ _Not another dinner here... I always have to have the rabbit hassling me over my so-called table manners."_ But suddenly, Ragna's mind remembered something, "Hey! Uh, excuse me!" He called out to both Valkenhayn and Rachel.

"What is it, dear?" Rachel asked curiously, slightly startled by Ragna's rare outburst.

"Uh..." Ragna began. "I'm not too big on weddings and I recently touched up on it, but isn't the father of the bride supposed to give her away or something like that?"

Rachel gasped, although slightly exaggeratedly, "Why, that is absolutely correct! With my father gone, there is currently no one to do the deed. Ah. Then there's only one suitable substitute, then. Valkenhayn!"

Valkenhayn turned with his eyes wide, "M-Madam! A-Are you seriously suggesting that-"

Rachel grinned at the old man's expression. She knew he was becoming overcome with joy. Ragna just looked away, not wanting to see things get sappier than they were.

 _"_ _Give me a break..."_

"Yes," Rachel begain, "I call upon you to give me away to Ragna when the time comes for it in the upcoming ceremony. Will you accept it?"

Valkenhayn reeled back a few steps. He felt his head spinning slightly. Then, he proceeded on his emotional ramble, "In all my years in service to House Alucard, I never would have dared thought that I'd be called upon to be the one to perform the sacred duty. And in all my years, I never wanted to cry tears of joy so much as I do now. So for this one moment, please forgive me for shedding these tears," Said he as his face started to become wet with tears.

 _"_ _Eww! Eww! Old man tears! Eww!"_ Ragna said in his mind as he shuddered, still looking away from the scene.

Valkenhayn took out a handkerchief, and then gently wiped his face clear of tears.

Rachel huffed at her butler, "Stand strong, man! I did not ask for sniveling! I am counting on you to perform this task! Now, puff out that chest and give me your answer like a proud servant of House Alucard would!"

Valkenhayn stood stiff as a board, and then gave a solder's salute. "Yes, madam! I humbly and proudly accept the task given to me to give the bride away at the ceremony! I shall not falter! I will perform this task to the best of my ability! All for the sacred honour and greater good of House Alucard!"

Although the long-time butler said that, he could not halt the flow of joyous tears coming from his eyes.

 _"_ _If you are about to die happy, old man, I'd be glad to prepare your funeral..."_ Ragna mentally said as he scowled while looking away from the scene.

"Very well," Rachel said as she yanked on Ragna's arm to turn back in her direction, "Ragna, I believe it's time we go around Kagutsuchi to break the news."

Ragna became slack-jawed, "Aww, come on, rabbit! You gotta be kidding me! I just went through all that shit of proposing in the first place! Now we have to practically tour the city to tell people? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"Nay," Rachel replied unsympathetically, "While the iron is still hot, we must strike."

Seeing as how there's usually no way to change Rachel's mind once it's set, Ragna had to begrudgingly accept and surrender, "Fine, fine. Let's just make this quick and painless..."

Rachel smiled at her fiancé as she said, "Don't worry. We'll start off easy. Perhaps, Jubei?"

Ragna had to admit that she was right. It would be easy to start off with Jubei, at least. "What the hell? I'll bite."

* * *

The two of them met up with Jubei, a good friend of Rachel's and Ragna's Master. They were in the outskirts of Kagutsuchi when the couple told him the news.

"Heh, heh, heh. Looks like you finally decided to grow up and be a man, didn't ya, Ragna? Heh, heh, heh." Jubei was always one to crack jokes at people's expense. Especially his former student.

Ragna couldn't look Jubei in the eye after listening to him being all snarky.

Rachel gave off a slight giggle at him, "Oh, he grew up, alright. But not before majorly struggling to properly do the proposal. Not only that, he got the terms 'husband' and 'wife' mixed up not once, but twice! The first time, he asked me to be his husband, and then the second time he asked to be my wife!"

Jubei was practically cackling, "HEH! HEH! HEH! Oh man, I thought I was a nervous wreck when I was fixing to propose to Nine, but that's just a trainwreck, wouldn't you say...Nine?"

Ragna's eyes nearly popped. "Nine?! Oh shit, don't tell me she's-"

"Yes, Ragna, I am." The sorceress said right behind him.

Ragna squawked as he jumped around and looked at his Master's wife, who was practically his mother. They say mothers can be scary, but she takes it to a whole other level.

Rachel backed away slightly and watched in silence as Nine used both hands to pinch Ragna's cheeks and then listen to his groans of agony to the pain.

 _"_ _No! I completely forgot about her! Goddamn it, Rabbit!"_

Nine said with genuine outrage as she continued to pinch Ragna's cheeks, "You should have proposed much sooner than you did, boy! Why, if I was there instead of Jubei to educate you on marriage, I'd be making sure you wouldn't leave my sight until you get it through your thick skull that you should propose!"

The former member of the Six Heroes lowered his head, "Actually, Nine, I knew ya'd be too hard on the boy. That's why I made sure to stay two steps ahead of ya when it came to Ragna. And you can let go of the poor boy's cheeks now. I reckon he's about to bruise if ya keep that up.

Nine scoffed at her husband as she mercifully let go of Ragna's face.

 _"_ _G-Geez, lady! I thought you were gonna break my face!"_

Nine continued on after sighing, "I suppose better late than never. Although, you two have a ways to go before you're on our level when it comes to marriage!"

Jubei clenched his teeth out of fear, "Now, now, Nine. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. They're not even married yet! Give em some slack, why dontcha? I'm sure we're not the only ones they have to break the news to. So why don't we hug em and let them be on their way?"

Nine huffed at Jubei, "You're too soft!" The sorceress cooled down by giving a loud sigh, "But really, congratulations, nonetheless, you two."

"Thank you," Rachel said. And with that, she promptly teleported herself and Ragna out of there.

"We didn't even embrace them," Nine said to Jubei.

Jubei said as he shook his head, "That's because you came in too hot on em. They're just kids. Let them have their moment, Nine."

* * *

Next up, was the NOL crew. Thankfully for them, they were all out in the main cathedral chatting amongst themselves when they arrived or, teleported in. Kagura, Noel, Jin, Tsubaki, Makoto, and Hibiki were all there.

Jin became slightly startled at the sudden appearance of his brother and he said to the two, "Why are you both here?"

Ragna sighed as he rolled his eyes at his younger brother, "I'm not here to pick a fight. We're just here to say that-"

"Ragna has finally done the deed and proposed to me. We're getting married." Rachel interrupted and spoke in Ragna's place.

 _"_ _Here it comes..."_ Ragna rolled his eyes again.

Makoto and Noel both squealed out loud, and hugged each other out of joy.

"OH MY GOD! HE FINALLY SAID IT, NOEL!" Makoto said rather crazily in her moment of joy in Noel's face. She was practically spitting.

Noel giggled, looking at the Beastkin, "Hee! Hee! I'm happy that he did, Makoto! It's finally happening!"

 _"_ _Goddamn it! Where are my EARPLUGS!?"_ Ragna scowled as he covered his ears.

"Congratulations, Ragna!" Both Noel and Makoto said in a mad dash to congratulate the former SS-Criminal.

Ragna put both hands on each of their faces respectively to hold them at bay, "No way! I'm not in the mood for sappiness! Go do that to Rachel!"

"Fine, party pooper," Makoto taunted at Ragna before turning to Rachel, "Congratulations, Rachel! We're SO happy for you!" Both the blonde and beastkin embraced the petite vampire on one side each.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki couldn't resist glaring intensely at Ragna. However, Jin noticed this, and then said to her, "Look, Tsubaki. He's MY problem. You just stay focused on what concerns you. Okay?"

Tsubaki nodded slowly hearing Jin's words, "Fine." Tsubaki honestly wanted to protest vocally to this, but when she saw how Rachel Alucard, a woman she was on good terms with, chatting with the girls about Ragna's proposal and making them laugh, she'd thought she might as well not be the one person who ruins everything and congratulate just the vampire, and especially on Jin's urging.

Slowly, Tsubaki walked up to where the vampire was chatting with her two other friends and said, "I offer my congratulations to you, Ms. Rachel. May you find happiness together with him." She said with respect as she bowed her head.

Rachel smiled at Tsubaki and said in reply, "Thank you very much. You're just in time by the way. Feast your eyes on what Ragna gave me for a proposal ring. She slowly raised her right hand to reveal the glorious ruby ring."

All three of the girls gasped at the mere sight of it.

"It's so beautiful..." Noel said, practically hypnotised, "I'm jealous! I wish a boy proposed to me with that kind of ring..."

"Now, now, wait your turn, sis," Makoto giggled at the blonde.

Ragna sighed at seeing Rachel and the girls having a little girl-chat amongst themselves. "I swear that this is taking much longer than it has to be..."

"Ragna, my man!" Kagura said from behind him.

He gave Ragna a big slap on the back out of a congratulatory sense, "Ow! Not so hard, Kagura."

Kagura couldn't wipe the grin off of his face, "It's about damn time, man! I thought you'd never go through with it!"

Ragna shrugged his shoulders, continuing to shrug off how much of a deal this actually was, "Look, Kagura. I don't get it. It's not like I was going anywhere. I mean, Rachel's the only one I wanna be with so what is even the point of this stupid ceremony?"

"AWWWWWWWW!" Both Noel and Makoto said in unison upon overhearing the guy-time.

"SHUT UP!" Ragna screamed at the two of them.

Kagura chuckled once more at Ragna and he answered, "You know, bro, you got a point, man. But, the point of weddings is to solidify the bond you have with the person that you love as well as swearing in front of millions of friends and family your eternal faithfulness and love to each other. A relationship takes two people, after all. So, a husband a wife would be looked at like the sun and the moon; two halves of a whole."

Ragna groaned, "Sure... Whatever that means..." He wasn't one for romance. Never was, never will be. He knew that all too well about himself.

"I must give my congratulations as well to both you and Rachel, Ragna. May both you and her find happiness together," Hibiki said as he gave a bow.

Ragna turned back to Kagura to see that he was holding a bottle in his hand. His eyes popped and then he asked Kagura, "Okay, maybe I might have missed it but, WHERE DID YOU GET THAT CHAMPAGNE?"

Kagura laughed sheepishly, "Uh... Drink first, ask questions later? Aww, who cares? Congratulations again, my man. Now, to make arrangements! Ragna, I promise I'll make the best bachelor's party you ever had!"

"Bachelor's party? The hell kind of party is that?" Ragna asked with a slight bit of fear in his voice.

Kagura chuckled insidiously at Ragna's ignorance, "You'll know in time." Kagura took out his phone as he said to his assistant, "Hibiki! Take notes! We're going to be planning one hell of a party for Ragna, here!"

"Right away, sir!" Hibiki complied obediently.

The two of them went off as Ragna shook his head at them, _"_ _I still get left in the dark on shit like this. It still pisses me off..."_ "Huh?"

Ragna noticed that Jin was within talking distance to his brother. "...Yeah, Jin?"

Jin looked down for a moment, then looked back up with a faint smile, "Congratulations, brother."

Ragna wasn't really expecting anything at all out of Jin, but he returned Jin's smile as he replied, "Thanks, Jin."

Nothing more was said between the brothers as Jin went off to do other business he had to attend to.

* * *

A few moments later, Tsubaki had already gone off to assist Jin in his current endeavors as Noel and Makoto went off still chatting eccentrically with each other about Rachel's ring.

Only Rachel, Ragna, and Kagura remained.

"Hmm..." Ragna began, "I don't think it's really important to tell Kokonoe this."

"As do I. I'm inclined to skip her," Rachel replied to Ragna.

 _"_ _What do you know? For once, the rabbit agrees with me on something!"_ The former criminal thought sarcastically to himself.

"I think you two should tell her." Kagura said to them.

"Hey! Don't decide for us who has to know!" Ragna snapped at Kagura.

Kagura didn't take Ragna's sass into account at all, "You might as well tell Kokonoe. After all, SHE'S there, isn't she?"

Ragna titled his head in confusion at Kagura. "Who the hell are you- Oh... Right. Well, I think it's better for her to hear it from us, rather than somebody else."

Rachel nodded as they teleported themselves on their way.

* * *

They were in Kokonoe's main lab when the two arrived inside. Again, by fortune, all the people who they wanted to tell the news to were in the same room, already. Lambda-11, Nu-13 (Especially, Nu-13), Iron Tager, and Kokonoe herself. All characters present in the room looked over at the pair that just warped in uninvited.

"Sup?" Kokonoe casually asked as she took a lick out of her lollipop. She lost much of her psychological tension since there was no longer a Terumi to worry about in the world. Therefore, Ragna and Rachel were much more of a welcomed sight to her.

Rachel nudged at Ragna to say it, and he slumped over briefly before standing up straight to say it.

"So, uh, Kokonoe... The rabbit and I; we're getting hitched."

The entire room felt silent for a bit before Kokonoe flashed a grin, then a laughed a hearty laughter that sounded rather similar to her father, Jubei, "Wow! You're getting married?! Damn, you picked a keeper, Ragna! You better cherish her!"

Ragna deeply frowned at the cat-woman scientist, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Ugh, I don't know how much more of this I can take."

The vampire giggled and felt inclined to add onto Ragna's misery, "You see, when Ragna proposed to me, he-"

"DON'T-SAY-THAT-BECAUSE-YOU-KNOW-I'LL-KICK-YOUR-ASS-IF-YOU-DO!" Ragna motormouthed to Rachel.

Rachel grinned at him, "Fine. I'll let it go for now."

"Aww, can't tell me? Fine..." Kokonoe stuck her tongue out at Ragna which made him glare at her.

Iron Tager cleared his throat and said to the couple, "Congratulations, you two. I wish you both happiness together."

"Th-Thanks." Ragna said to the Red Devil. But then he noticed that both Murakumo, Lambda and Nu were silent this whole time.

He looked over at the two that were sitting in a pair of chairs together. Damn it, he wanted to hear from those two the most. There's no telling how either would react, especially Nu, the person who loves Ragna with all her heart. Although she was aware that the two were dating, he feared that this piece of news may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

The silence was finally broken when Lambda came forward and gave a warm smile, much to the couple's surprise. She slowly walked towards them, and hugged both of them simultaneously.

Lambda broke the hug and said to both of them, "Lambda's...happy for both of you. Rachel...thank you...for making Ragna happy."

"Most welcome," Rachel replied.

This was all well and good, but Ragna was starting to get nervous. He was staring over in Nu's direction, getting nervous at her prolonged silence. After what must have felt like an eternity of waiting, the pale girl finally tilts her head to one side, and gave a sincere smile.

Everyone was startled, especially Ragna. He was honestly expecting the worst, but felt a huge sense of relief that Nu didn't take things the wrong way.

Iron Tager took a step back.

Kokonoe merely widened her eyes.

Lambda blinked a few times.

Rachel kept that stoic expression on but was still intrigued.

Nu finally spoke, "Nu is like, so happy for you, Ragna! As long as you're happy, then Nu is happy!"

Ragna chuckled nervously, "Uh, right. Thanks for your congratulations, Nu."

"But Rachel..."

"Yes?"

Nu giggled, "If you make Ragna unhappy, I'll have to kill you!" She said innocently, "Are we clear?"

Rachel's right eye twitched. "Excuse me? I-"

Not wanting to see how far things would get before a bloodbath would occur, Ragna simply embraced Rachel and said, "Okay! Thanks for your congratulations, everyone! Just get us out of here right now before things get really bad!"

Rachel leered at Nu before teleporting themselves out of there.

* * *

Rachel had one last person in mind to greet before being on their way home...

Ragna finds themselves in...

"Orient Town?" Ragna asked, confused. "Why here? Who could be here that we're greeting?"

Rachel pointed to Ragna's left to see a flamboyant man teaching a dance lesson with his students.

"Yes, that's right, darlings! With elegance and rhythm!" The dancer said to direct his lesson.

Ragna groaned, "Hell no! That guy is a serious pain in the ass!"

"It's the last person, Ragna. I promise." Rachel smirked at him.

Ragna rolled his eyes at her, "I HOPE you'll keep your word on that, rabbit, because I'm starting to get dizzy from warping all over the place with you." _"_ _Not that I even have much of a choice here..."_

The two of them approached the dancer slowly, and then Rachel clears his throat to attract the dancer's attention. Amane slowly turned his head to the couple, and then immediately said to his students, "Hold your positions, please! Someone wants to chat with little old me!"

He walked to the couple in his usual fabulous manner as his troupe of dancers watched and listened in silence, and then said to Rachel, "What is it, dear? Not bad news, I would hope."

"Nay," Rachel replied. Rather..." She lifted her right hand to show off her ruby ring, "Ragna has done the proposal deed and now we're currently engaged."

Amane's eyes opened wide as he gave a high-pitched scream out of joy.

Ragna covered his poor ears that were about ready to go deaf on him by now, _"THAT'S IT! I am definitely demanding earplugs after this!"_

"Oh my goodness! This is an incredible time for you! I am so happy that I could dance the night away!"

Amane's troupe overhears this, and they all start to applaud for the couple with a mixture of cheers of their own.

 _"_ _Please don't..."_ Ragna begged in his mind.

The fabulous dancer proceeded to take both of Rachel's hands and softly kiss them both, which made the vampire giggle softly. Then, Amane flashed a grin at Ragna and then wrap his arms around his neck, kissing his cheek for a prolonged amount of seconds.

"Gah! Get off of me!" Ragna yelled at Amane. This attracted the laughter of his troupe, making Ragna want to knock them all out. It was certainly in his power, but he mentally said that they were lucky he wasn't here to pick a fight with them.

Amane backed off and gave the couple some distance, and then said to the both of them, "Allow us to express our joy in the only way we know how!" He spins around to face his troupe and said to them, "Oh dearies! Quickly! Line up and let's dance for our recently engaged darlings!"

Ragna was practically seething. He could not take a dance routine after being kissed on the cheek like that by Amane. "Rachel, PLEASE. I'm tired and I just want to go home! PLEASE call him off! I'm begging you!"

Rachel sighed, both in disappointment and understanding of what Ragna was feeling, "I'm sorry, Amane. But it's been a long day for the both of us. Perhaps you and your troupe can do your routine some other time."

Amane giggled sinisterly at Ragna, "Okay, then. Ragna, you know where to find me, hon!"

The sound of Ragna's loud groaning echoed as Rachel teleported them out of town.


End file.
